The Dilemmas of Political Campaigns

Being a politician isn't all cocktail parties and fancy fundraisers. Sure, that's what the media is often focused on when they are covering the Prime Minister or the President, but like any other profession it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make it to that top spot. This often requires many hard hours canvassing and speaking with countless constituents to understand the issues in the area the politician is attempting to represent.

I've been working with Chris Tindal (www.christinal.ca) on his campaign to become the next City Councillor for Ward 27 in Toronto. I've been canvassing the ward with Chris and trying to get the word out on what he's all about. It has been a great experience, and I'm going to continue to do it, but I have come across a couple of interesting dilemma's while doing this:

Dilemma 1)
Politicians are constantly criticized for being out of touch with the public, but a lot of people don't want to be bothered when a potential politician wants to hear about their issues.

I completely understand where the people are coming from on this one. After all, we see politicians make decisions that we don't agree with on a daily basis... they obviously aren't listening to us! At the same time, I really don't want every politician who represents me stopping by my doorstep or calling me on the phone at dinner time every night to ask me what I think about certain issues. I (somewhat) have a life afterall!

I was going to write a whole piece here about how social media can help enable this, but let's be honest, I'd bet it's a pretty skewed population that is looking to their politicians online. One only has to look to the Obama campaign vs. the McCain campaign to see where the demographics are on that one.

Although there is no real solution to this, my advice is if you get the chance, take a few minutes out of your busy day to talk to your potential candidates. Whether it's at your door or online, grill them on their issues and make sure they know their stuff! I guarantee you that the person is not walking around your whole neighbourhood talking to everyone for a selfish reason. Although you may not agree with their personal stance on things, they will be happy to listen and share their thoughts with you.

Dilemma 2)
The taxes are always too high, and the services are always too low... and the Government is wasting it all.

Again, I really can't disagree on this one. Who doesn't want lower taxes and more services!? I think the Government(s) of the past and present are the ones who are really driving this lack of faith in the system. I think the majority of people don't mind paying their taxes, but most people express a feeling that taxes are going up while service levels continue to decrease. This inevitably leads to the third variable in this equation, government waste.

I am fairly privileged in that I got to study economics in school. Also known as the study of scarce resources, the basic principles of economics states that there are always winners and losers in any political or economic decision. It's unfortunate that this is the case, but that means that anytime any government makes a decision to fund a certain project or initiative, there WILL be another project or initiative that doesn't get funded... keep that in mind next time you see a politician making a decision. What is s/he giving up in order to make this decision?

Again, there is no solution to this per se, but my advice to people would be to keep a watch on what their politicians are doing. Are their choices good for society as a whole, or are they choosing to focus on a certain group/area for political gain? As a society we've been living beyond our means for some time, and this likely means at some point in the near future our politicians at all levels are going to be making some tough choices in the future. Ask yourself if you'd want someone representing you who's willing to make the tough choices, or if you would prefer someone who happens to fund your individual project/initiative.

Well, now that I'm ending my little piece on the dilemmas of modern democracy, let me leave you with this...



After all, at the end of the day, regardless of a politicians party affiliation or policy decisions, they can always use a little help from their friends. Volunteering for a political campaign is a great way to learn some things about your local neighbourhood and really make a difference. Try it out!

PS: This blog reflects my own personal views only. I do work on the Chris Tindal campaign as a volunteer, but he is his own man and all of his personal views can be found at www.christindal.ca